Tattle Tail Noodle Jugs??

I've been reading and studying the different messages about how to make Tattle tail and regular noodle jugs. So, although I'm somewhat slow in my thinking...I believe I understand how they both work.:confused2:

The Tattle Tail sounds interesting and it would be nice to be able to see whether or not a fish was on the line....but, in actual use how well do they work?

Am I wrong in thinking that any wave action could trigger the weight inside the PVC pipe into falling down the pipe, and faultly signaling a fish had been caught??

The Tattle Tale jugs (often called Flagging Jugs) usually are not tripped by waves. The jugs are set with some slack in the line that allows them to ride up and down with the waves. There are times when a big wake can trip them but I find them very stable.

Bill,
I have about 50 tilt up noodle jugs ,and I doint have many problems with waves from boats etc. setting them off (Standing them up) I have had barges drive by them and very few tip up. If you build some make sure that you have the right amount of weight in them. A 31/2" noodle 10" long with a 18" long 1" Diameter pvc pipe would need 6" of 5/8" or about 5" of 3/4" or 4" of !" diameter steel round stock. You will need to make sure that you doint have to much lead weight on the line above the hook if you have to much a good size live shad or a sunfish , or live gold fish will stand up the jug. You neeed to see Wild wolf Products (Gene Anderson) makes some good noodle making kits, and may be found on this web site. Noodle fishing can be a lot of fun and a lot of work. Some lakes and rivers doint allow them , or may only be used at night. Glow sticks on your jugs at night work real well.
Good Luck
Paul (olddriller)
Retired gone fishing

I don't use sand because I can't depend on it staying dry; wet sand doesn't slide very well.

Some idiot using my jugs for a slalom course is a self-correcting problem. The first time he snags one of those juglines, jerks it out of the water, and has it wrap all around him, embedding the hooks in his flesh so he has to go to the emergency room to have them removed is the last time he will ski within a quarter mile of a floating jug.

Bill, most of my jugging is done freefloating jugs in the current of the Arkansas River. I like to make my juglines as long as possible without them hanging up too often. Too often, and you spend all your time getting them loose; if they don't ever hang up, you may not be deep enough. I use multiple hooks spread from 3' below the surface to within a foot or so of the bottom end of the jugline. I use a 16p or 20p nail for a weight, a foot below the bottom hook. For the areas I regularly jugfish, I have 4 hooks on each line. Sometimes the cats will hit near the surface, and sometimes they will hit near the bottom. About 20 years ago I was jugging a section of the Tennessee River that was 60'-80' deep, and just wasn't having a lot of luck with my standard rig. I added 40' of line between my standard jugline and the jug, putting my bait 40' deeper, and began to catch fish. Be flexible. You can get a lot of good ideas from this board, but you still need to see what works best for YOU. Oh yeah, if you're jugging big water, you may need to spot your jugs at a far greater distance than when you run your anchored jugs. The larger diameter jug you use, the better you can see it at, say, 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile away, even with 10X binoculars. The color of your jugs can also make a big difference in the visibility of your jugs. White tends to get lost in the glare; black can be seen very well at a distance, but can't be distinguished from a stump; fluorescent green is a very good color, but it's expensive and requires that the jug be painted white before being painted with the fluorescent paint; all things considered, what works best for me is bright yellow. I can buy a can of yellow spray paint at Wal Mart for just under a buck, and if I'm careful, I can paint 20 jugs with it. That's only a nickel a jug for paint.

Thanks for the detailed report on your jug line use. I've never used jug lines on a river, so that was very interesting. I once had high hopes about drifting down the Arkansas River, from near Tulsa, all the way to the Mississippi River in a shanty boat of some kind.:crazy:

But, that dream is kind of like the one I had about finding a wealthy woman to wed!

I tend to be a warm-weather fisherman, so I'll jug from early spring till late fall, but I've got a feeling that I could probably catch them all winter long. My biggest problem is when the Arkansas is on a rampage, and up over the dikes. The swift water running over the dikes tends to suck your jugs over the dike, and your jugline hangs up. Trying to retrieve a jug in such a situation is so dangerous it's not worth it, although I've wondered if I might be able to cast a big treble hook from a safe distance, snag the jugline, and retrieve the jug that way. Maybe jugging the backwaters during high water is the answer.

I have found a great alternative to the noodles it is the foam insulation board used to insulate new houses usually blue found at lowes or any builder supply store. it comes in 4' x 8' sheets and is 3/4" thick cut it in about 1' squares tie twine around it with hooks and youre ready to go a couple things are better about this way they lie flat so wind is not a factor and when a fish gets on one it makes a loud slap on the water the only draw back is easily cured visibility is not as good so i apply a piece if reflective tape on all sides . these jugs are tougher than you might think they are :big_smile: